Thermally actuated valve

Claim 1

A thermally actuated valve comprising: a cup member including a pocket defining a bottom wall and a side wall having an annular shoulder spaced from said bottom wall, said cup member being adapted for contact with a heat source; a thermally conductive cartridge received within said pocket having a bottom surface engaging said bottom wall of said pocket, said cartridge including a centrally disposed common channel communicable with a pair of secondary channels disposed on opposite sides of said common channel, each of said common and secondary channels opening through an upper surface of said cartridge; a thermally responsive bimetal snap action valve member disposed in said common channel having a portion movable from sealing engagement with one of said secondary channels into sealing engagement with the other of said secondary channels for controlling communication between said common channel and said secondary channels in accordance with temperature change in said cartridge; a resilient gasket disposed in said pocket overlying said upper surface of said cartridge including a pattern of openings communicating with said common and secondary channels; a crown member including a common passage and a pair of secondary passages opening through a lower surface thereof communicating with said pattern of openings in said gasket, said lower surface having portions engaging said gasket and said annular shoulder of said cup member; and means securing said crown member to said cup member whereby said gasket is compressed between said upper surface of said cartridge and said lower surface of said crown members for resiliently urging said cartridge into heat transfer engagement with said bottom wall of said cup member while maintaining a seal around said channel and passage openings.